A Brief History On January 1, 1950, a new method of designating what year it is (or was) went into effect with the BP system, meaning “Before Present.” The Anno Domini (“the year of our Lord”) choice of a starting date for modern counting of years was proposed by the colorfully named Dionysius Exiguus (a monk from what is now modern Bulgaria or Romania) back in 525 AD. (Yes, you can use the letters with or without the periods.) Digging Deeper The Lord referred to in AD is Jesus Christ, which of course seems to slight people of any religion…
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A Brief History Tonight, January 31, 2015, marks the return of Anderson “the Spider” Silva, the greatest mixed-martial artist of any weight class! Digging Deeper Unfortunately, his career almost came to a dramatic end in December 2013 when he fractured his leg in absolutely gruesome fashion. After a year of recovery, Silva competes once again tonight at UFC 183 against former Strikeforce and World Extreme Cage Fighting welterweight champion Nick Diaz. Should Silva have a successful return, he may once again challenge for the middleweight championship. On a bizarre note, while Silva is known for various charitable endeavors and for…
A Brief History On January 31, 1930, the 3M Company (then going by the name of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) revealed Scotch Tape. This product, consisting of clear cellophane tape with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on one side, would become a household and office necessity. Digging Deeper 3M has since ridden the success of Scotch Tape to produce many products bearing the Scotch brand that have nothing to do with the original product, one example being the stain repellent Scotchguard. 3M first began advertising with the familiar tartan plaid (Wallace type) in 1945. Today, many manufacturers produce adhesive tape, but most folks generically call these products “Scotch Tape” as…
A Brief History On January 30, 1945, Soviet submarine S-13 fired 3 torpedoes into the side of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff, a German cruise liner named after an assassinated Swiss Nazi that had been converted for military use. Digging Deeper The Wilhelm Gustloff had been engaged in evacuating German troops and civilians from the Courland area of the Baltic coast, transporting them back to Germany to escape the Red Army. The ship was carrying over 6,000 troops, and with crew and civilians, total passengers probably numbered over 10,000. Massive damage was caused to the front, middle and rear of the ship, and the…
A Brief History On January 29, 1936, the first class of baseball “Hall of Famers” was named and was comprised of Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. Before the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum finally opened in 1939, another 20 men were also selected for this honor. Digging Deeper This year’s (2015) group of inductees are the pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinex and John Smoltz, as well as second baseman Craig Biggio. Located in Cooperstown, New York, the alleged site of the birth of baseball, the Hall of Fame currently has over 300 inductees made up of Major…